Traction-wheel.



v W. S. MORTON.

TRAGTION WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED 13110.11, 1911.

PatenteaAug. 27, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET L.

W. s. MORTON. TRAGTION WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEU. 11', 1911.

1,036,682., Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5mm/wao@ www0-oa@ W. MOTZOM TRACTION-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

y Application filed December 11, 19111. v Serial No. 665,110. i

To all whom 'it may concerni Be it-known that I, WALTERS. MORTON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Harrisburg,in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TracvtionWheels; and I do declare thefollowging to be a full,l clear,I and exact description ofthe invention, such as-Wi'll enable others skilled in the art to" which 1t appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to road vehicles, and `more especially to the traction Wheels thereof; andthe object of the same is t0 produce'a light and strong open-work tractionl Wheel having ribs which Wlll engage the earth without slipping and so constructed that vsoil will not be likely to accumulate thereon. This and other objects are accomplished by following the details of the present specification and claims, as illlustrated in the 4drawings wherein- Figure 1, is a side elevation of this wheel complete; Fig. 2 is,y an edge v ieW of the same, showing part of the Wheel 1n plan and part of it in section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged planview of a portion of the tire, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line'4-4 thereof; Fig. 5 is a still furtheLenlarged perspective detail of one of the' Y-shaped members making up this tire.

- In the drawings the letter H designates a hub Whose detailed construction forms no part of the present invention, and S, S are two series of'spokes, preferably of Wire or rod, radiating and diverging from said hub tothe tread of the'vvheel which is by preference of greater width than the length of said hubas shown, -and Whose detailed construction constitutes the gist of my invention. Said tread is composed of what might be called a rim and what might be called a tire attached to the rim. The 4latter is made of two angle irons 1 2, Whose inner leavesl stand in parallel planes at right angles to the axis of the h'uhhand are spaced some distance from each ot er, and whose outer leaves stand in. the' same lane as shown in Fig. 2, and the outeren sof the spokes AS may be ecured to eitherv leaf'of each angle iron although they are herein shown as carried through and upset or riveted at 3 onthe outside of the outer leaves. Saidangle irons are thus rigidly connected with the hub and'form the two members of,

will y describe but one.

4of the contiguous member.

The tire of this improved traction Wheel is madeup of a number of sections or mein'- bers'best illustrated'in detail in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and as these members are alike'l Each member consists of athree-legged or Y-shaped piece, cast or stamped from metal as preferred, and includ-ing a straight shank 10 disposed midway between -the two angle-irons, and obliquely diverging arms 11 beveled. off at their outer extremities as at 12 and Which extremities are separated from each other a distance equal to the width of the entire wheel. 'The outer ends ofthe arms 11 overlap the Aairigle-ii'ons l 2 and are riveted thereon as at 13, and 'along the outer face ofthe shank and the outer faces of both arms extends a' rib 14 of any suitable shape and Whose obvious 4purpose is for embedding in the earth. Where the outer edges 15 of the diverging arms 11 would naturally meet.

each other at an angle, this entire member if cast or stamped-with a transverse throat 1G which makes this member a little stronger at the juncture of its arms With its shank; and the material of the ,member just in -rear of this throat is cut out or struck up from the under side to produce a recess 17.l The rear end of the ri\b 14 terminates at the point 18 on the outer side of the shank 10, and just in rear of -said point the material of the shank is deflected inward into a tongue 19 whose shape and size is such that it will fit into the recess 17 The various members as thus constructed are applied around the rim and secured thereto by the' rivets 13, with the tongue 19 -ofeachmember seated Within the recess 17 of the member next adjacent, and rivets 20 are passed through said tongue and the bottom of the elacss to hold the various members asse'my' e As above suggested, the parts of this trac tionfwheel may be of casting or of stamped Wrought metal or the like, and it is quite Within the province of my invention to use. bolts instead of rivets. v

Other details of construction may be am- `plifiedror changed without departing from the spirit of m invention.

A traction w eel as thus built can have I an extremely wide tread withaut addinggreatly to the weight of the wheel, its openwork structure permits the earth to fall through so that what is picked up by the ascending .side of the wheel falls through it at or near the top of the same, such open-work structure also permits -the workman or user to get at the rivets or'bolts when repairs are needed and to replace them or to replace the members if they should become broken or bent. By preference the ribs 14 on the arms l1 of one member overlap the rear end 18 ot the rib on the member next adjacent so that there is never a time` when the ribs are not engaging the earth.` With this end in view the arnis oi' the Y-shaped ieee are by preference formed at a considera le angle to each other and the shank l0 otsuch length that the idea just expressed will be carried out. The recessll? may be cut out ot' the metal because the shape of the throat 16 permits, or the material of the member may be upstruck at this point to form the recess without sacrificing any of the metal, and the same may be said of the tongue 19 at the rear end of the shank l0. The rib 14 is of a size and cross section consistent with the work to be performed, and considerable latitude will be allowed t-he manufacturer in this particular. j

W'h'at is claimed as new is: l

l. The herein described traction wheel comprising ay hub, two series of spokes radiating therefroni and diverging from each other, a rim made up or" two angle-irons each .connected with the outer extremities of one series of spokes, and a tread made up oit' individual three-legged members, two of whose legs are connected with said angleirons and the third with the member next adjacent. i

2, The herein described traction wheel comprising a hub, two series of spokes ra diating therefrom and diverging'icrom Ieach other, a rim made up ot two angle-irons each connected with the outer` extremities of one series of spokes, and a tire made up of a series of three-legged members having outstanding ribs along their outer faces, the outer ends of two of the legs overlapping said angle-irons and being riveted thereto, and the end of the third leg being deflected into a tongue underlying the throat of the member adjacent and. being riveted thereto.

3. The herein described traction wheel comprising a hub, two vseriesv of spokes radiating therefrom and diverging from each other, a rim made up of two angle-irons each connected with the outer extremities oit one series of spokes, and a tire made up of a series of three-legged members having substantially iat bodies with radially projecting ribs leading inward from the extremities of two of said legs to the center and thence along the third leg to a point near its extremity, this leg being deflected inward in rear of said pointso as to pass beneath the throat ot the member adjacent, a rivet connecting these two members atthe lapping point, and rivets through said angle irons and the outer ends of each of the other legsof said member.

4. The herein described traction wheel comprising a hub, spokes, a rim made up of two side strips carried by said spokes, and a tire made up ot a series of Y-shaped members each oi': which has a throat formed between its arms and a recess on the inner side of its throat and each of which also has an inwardly vbent tongue at the extremity of l its shank shaped to tit the recess ofthe adjacent member, means for fastening each tongue in a recess, and means'for securing the endsnf each pair of arms to said rim strips.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER s. MonToN.

Witnesses HARRY W. KEENY, BERTHA A. MEssnRsMiTH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing th Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

